Rants & raves from a redheaded lawyer w/an unusual career: one where she can be herself online!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Bad Things Turning Into Good

Since I finished a paid writing assignment I was working on when everything happened with my old day job, I have now have had time to do some investigative work. If I weren't working in the entertainment field right now, I'd probably become a private detective.

Aside from being the person everyone asks for resume/cover letter help as well as the person everyone thinks will go on some massive shooting spree if she ever had a serious mental breakdown, I'm also good at tracking people down. I've never had to spend money & have a pretty good track record for finding information or people that aren't easy to find. The only downside is I'd need to work with people who are good at doing field surveillance & blending into a crowd; that would probably be a viable family business for us since my husband is good at that stuff & even knows potential people to recruit.

However, if you're getting ideas of how that would be such a great reality show I'd forget it.

For one thing, we're not all that big on being in the public eye. I've gotten a glimpse on what things will be like for an actor who makes it big or even a director or producer; working in this industry & meeting people w/connections makes you develop a new respect for public figures. That's also why I'm more than happy to take smaller acting roles & don't want to be the lead actor on anything; let someone else deal w/the media frenzy. If you are fine w/being famous, more power to you.

Second, we're stubborn & ornery people. We couldn't set up situations or hire actors; it would have to be honest to goodness reality or we'd never do it. You won't catch us being sellouts. We dislike them so to avoid being hypocrites, we'd have to take action to avoid that path. It'd be very much "my way or the highway."

I know it's a contradiction. It is. Here I am working in a capacity that could very well lead to my having a larger public profile but I'm not a media whore. It's a duality that I have; I don't mind being known for being hard nosed, tough, capable or even a good actor/singer.

I do mind being told to lie about who I am or to be dishonest about something I care deeply about. I also want to keep my day to day life intact & not have to worry about being mobbed just for getting on the subway or people harassing my loved ones b/c of what I do or who I know. I can't imagine what it's like for famous actors & I figure eventually I'll know someone who does or will have to deal w/all that.

Maybe we're all like that: everyone wants to be known for the good things about themselves but they don't want the tabloids finding out about the time they did coke in college or the child they abandoned. No one wants to be harassed about being gay if they aren't ready to come out of the closet or reminded of their troubled home life.

I know how PR & marketing works but I simply have lines I will not cross. I'll never lie about being married or deny my spouse in public. I'm a relativist in many ways but I will call things as I see them if you ask me. My stance is simply "take me as I am or don't worry about me." I'm sure someone would end up butting heads w/me a LOT.

So in dealing w/the fall out from that scam company, I and some former co-workers are managing to get some connections we might not otherwise have. This is because when your scam artist is dealing w/high profile people & you're in a position or stature that requires you to warn these people so they don't also become victims, the duty to warn is greater than concerns over protocol. I would personally want to hear from someone before becoming a victim & losing money.

I figure my word probably carries more weight in all this than it would if I were just a college kid starting out or one of the actors; after all, I have legally regulated duties to tell the truth. I'm sure this is also true of some of my colleagues who have their own industry credibility & professional reputations.

So I'm hopeful that this whole spiderweb won't be all in vain & we'll all have new opportunities that actually work out. At least if others don't have to deal w/this con artist, I'll be satisfied.

About Me

I am an attorney who used to work with a small indie film production company. Like it or not, it seems I now have a place in the entertainment industry.
DISCLAIMER: The statements on this blog represent my personal views ONLY. It is not to be taken as any representation of the views of ANY other entity besides me, myself & I. I am not a spokesperson for ANYONE other than myself.
This blog is also NOT LEGAL ADVICE nor does any statement here form an attorney-client relationship or convey more than general information. If you want to be MY client, you'll have to sign a retainer agreement & pay me first.